Kalmia latifolia 'GALAXY'

Kalmia latifolia
Kalmia latifolia 'GALAXY'
mountain laurel
SIZE/TYPE medium-sized shrub
USUAL HEIGHT 0.8-1.8m
USUAL WIDTH 0.5-1.5m
LEAVES evergreen broadleaf
COLOUR OF LEAVES green
FLOWERS showy
COLOUR OF FLOWERS combined:white and burgundy red
BLOOMING TIME May - June
LOCATION full to partial sun
SOIL TYPE acidic (peaty)
SOIL MOISTURE REQUIREMENTS evenly moist (dislikes drought)
USDA zone (lowest) 4   (down to -34°C)
WINTER PROTECTION  
FOR ZONE 5+6 Code of winter protection zone 5+6
FOR ZONE 7 Code of winter protection zone 7
BELONGS TO CATEGORIES Evergreen broadleaf
Rhododendrons, azaleas, and mountain laurels
náhled fotonáhled fotonáhled foto
Honestly, we are nuts about kalmias – mountain laurels. Not very well known, these mid-sized shrubs deserve more attention as they belong to the most beautiful flowering evergreen shrubs of our climate. They come from south-eastern USA and the Asian mountains where they grow under taller trees. There are many cultivars combining all sorts of red, pink and burgundy shades with white, all of them beautiful, all of them very hardy. The best display is when half of the bloom cluster is still in buds which mostly have a different colour than the flowers themselves.

Galaxy is a very unusual variety of mountain laurel. Its complete botanical name is kalmia latifolia f.polypetala which means that it has strictly divided petals and that is unusual for a mountain laurel. The flowers make the same effect as deutzia. They are a combination of deep burgundy red and white and there are so many of them that they can cover the top of the plant. The evergreen leaves are leathery, dark green, and glossy. It is the fastest grower ever known, in 10 years it may grow some 1.3m tall and about a meter wide.

For a happy life it MUST HAVE acidic soil (add plenty of peat). Do not dig a deep hole but a wide one. Plant it in light, well drained soil that has to be well mulched to keep the surface roots moist at all times. Full sun is best for profuse flowering. Fertilize in spring and early autumn with rhododendron fertilizers. Use water solutions or slow-release fertilizers that will not burn the delicate surface roots. Fully hardy to -34°C (USDA zone 4).

Last update 21-04-2010
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GLOSSARY
  • STANDARD QUALITY - Plants of this group are 1st class quality with number of branches and overall density adequate to their size and age, considering they were container grown.
  • DE LUXE QUALITY - This label guarantees a luxurious quality of manually selected plants that, compared to their height and age, are exceptionally dense and beautiful.
  • EXTRA - These plants are usually mature and bigger specimens with exceptional overall appearance.
  • STANDARD (as described in the plant form) means a tree with a trunk of 190-210 cm and a crown at the top, unless specified differently. The commercial size for trees is their girth measured in the height of 1m from ground.
  • HOBBY - These plants are of the same quality as our standard-quality plants but younger and therefore cheaper.
  • SHRUB - a woody plant with branches growing bushy from the ground level.
  • HALF-STANDARD or MINI-STANDARD - a small tree with shorter trunk, its size is usually specified.
  • FEATHERED - These are trees with branches growing already from the base of the trunk and up along the stem.
  • GRASSES and PERENNIALS - Sizes given usually read the diameter of the pot or the clump, as specified.
LARGE PLANTS over 150 cmspecimens, screening and hedging shrubs

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